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The race begins for the 5th LVMH Prize

And they are off. Applications opened Friday for aspiring talent for the LVMH Prize, the most financially beneficial annual award in fashion. Young hopefuls – the prize is limited to designers under 40 who have produced at least two collections – have until Sunday, February 4, 2018 to apply.

Marine Serre, 2017 LVMH Prize Winner - LVMH

The 2018 edition marks the fifth LVMH Prize, whose 300,000 euro award is highest sum for a single award in fashion. The prize also honors three young designers, who receive 10,000 euros and the chance to join the creative team of a fashion glittering brand within LVMH.

Previous winners of the award or its Special Prize include Marques’ Almeida, Jacquemus and Hood by Air, who in recent editions have received their awards inside the Louis Vuitton Foundation.

Though other awards in Europe – ANDAM, Hyères, British Fashion Council and Who Is On Next in Italy - have considerable prestige, the LVMH Prize has emerged as the most coveted by dint of its generous financial pay-out and the reputation of its double jury.

Some 1,250 applicants are expected to apply, making it the Oklahoma Land Rush of fashion. Traditionally, they are whittled down to 21 semi-finalists, who are then edited by a first jury of some 40 senior editors, buyers, critiques and influencers to just 10 finalists. These 10, in turn, are judged by a jury composed of major league designers within the LVMH group. In 2017, this included Karl Lagerfeld, Phoebe Philo, Nicolas Ghèsquiere, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Jonathan Anderson – as well as Delphine Arnault, the brainchild behind the award, and her father Bernard Arnault, the controlling shareholder or LVMH, the world’s largest luxury conglomerate.